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Places We Protect

Thousand Acre Woods

Indiana

Thousand Acres Woods protects an exceptional example of the rare silver maple/elm forest.

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Overview

Description

Why You Should Visit

The Thousand Acre Woods in Daviess County offers a rich variety of species of bottomland hardwoods amidst the miles of flat farmland that surround it. Look for the remarkable representation of silver maple and elm forest, one of the few in Indiana. Though drainage impacted the entire forest system, the current species composition is still very rich and varied. Thousand Acre Woods was dedicated as a State Nature Preserve in 2001.

What The Nature Conservancy is Doing/has Done

The stewardship activities at Thousand Acre Woods include eradication of non-native Johnson grass, boundary marking and the general protection of one of the largest continuous remnants of a floodplain forest community. The preserve is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy.

Access

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Size

943 acres

Explore our work in this region

What to See: Plants and Animals

Green and black ash, sweet gum, sycamore, cottonwood, American elm, and silver, red and ash-leafed oak dominate the forest alongside smaller populations of black willow, hackberry, red elm, basswood, mulberry, and sugarberry. The understory is composed of buttonbush, Virginia and trumpet creeper, sensitive and ostrich fern, spicebush, elderberry and sumhaw, a native deciduous holly found in only a few sites in Indiana. The spring flooding provides essential habitat for mud turtles, crayfish frogs and various species of fish.

The relatively flat terrain will make for an easy hike despite the lack of developed trails at the preserve. Be wary of mosquitoes and poison ivy, as they thrive here on the hot summer months.